HJNO Mar/Apr 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  MAR / APR 2024 39 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com Tulane University Launches NewNursing Program Tulane University is launching a new nursing program through a collaboration between the Tulane School of Medicine (SoM) and the Tulane School of Professional Advancement (SoPA). The program will offer a Bachelor of Science in nursing. “Tulane was founded as a medical school devoted to eradicating yellow fever. We are still laser-focused on treatment and cures for the epi- demics of our times, while ensuring we have the workforce available to provide comprehensive and accessible healthcare in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana,” Tulane President Michael A. Fitts said. “This program is part of Tulane’s commitment to improve our city and region’s health and economy by reimagining downtown New Orleans as a national hub for medical edu- cation and as a center of bioscience research and innovation.” Set to begin in fall 2024, the program will ini- tially be housed in the Tulane University School of Medicine’s Murphy Building, 131 S. Robertson St., before moving to its permanent location at the renovated Tulane Medical Center building on Tulane Avenue. The program plans to enroll more than 200 students each year. For more information on registering for the nursing program, visit nursing.tulane.edu . There will be three program start dates per year in the spring, summer, and fall. Prospective students must have at least 60 transferable credits to enter the program. LSUHealth Discovery Focuses on Degenerative Diseases of Brain, Eyes Scientists at LSU Health New Orleans’ Neurosci- ence Center of Excellence, led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd professor and director, have iden- tified a new mechanism that regulates a protein key for cell survival. It appears to protect against the excessive oxidative stress that precedes the development of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and eye. Results are published in the Nature journal, Cell Death & Disease. “This discovery goes beyond the commonly studied transcriptional modulation, suggest- ing its impact on protection against oxidative stress-related diseases and extension of lifes- pan,” said Bazan, who is also the Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair for Retinal Degenerations and Bollinger Family Professor in Alzheimer’s Dis- ease. “We found that Elovanoid-34 modulates the activity of the protein, TXNRD1, which is cen- tral to the initiation cascade of oxidative stress.” Elovanoid-34 is part of a class of molecules in the brain discovered by the Bazan lab that syn- chronize cell-to-cell communication and neuroin- flammation-immune activity in response to injury or disease. Elovanoids are bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are released on demand when cells are damaged or stressed. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbal- ance between free radicals and antioxidant defenses to detoxify them. It can lead to cell and tissue damage and the onset of diseases. The research team, which included scientists from the Swiss company Biognosys AG, iden- tified the proteins affected by elovanoid-34. Using proteomics, they screened 130,000 pro- tein sequences corresponding to 4,749 proteins and discovered that only one changed in struc- ture upon contact with elovanoid-34. Research- ers found that TXNRD1 is a crucial component of the antioxidant system, glutathione, and targets a regulator of ferroptosis, a type of cell death. This is particularly the case in age-related macular degeneration where the support cells of the pho- toreceptors of the light in the retina succumb to excessive oxidative stress conditions. These cells, called retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, can be rescued from death by elovanoid-34, stopping the neurodegeneration of the retina and blind- ness. The current study uses human RPE cells, which were developed in the Bazan lab. “This breakthrough discovery opens new ther- apeutic avenues for various pathologies and the promotion of successful aging of the nervous sys- tem,” said Bazan. LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center co-authors also included Drs. Jorgelina Calandria, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, Sayantani Kala-Bhat- tacharjee, and Pranab K. Mukherjee. Co-authors from Biognosys AG included Yuehan Feng, Jakob Vowinckel and Tobias Treiber. The research was supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Founda- tion in New Orleans. “The present discovery opens a new dimen- sion to understanding the complex multifactorial process of aging,” added Bazan. “The gradual decline of functions in aging does engage exces- sive oxidative stress further magnified by co-mor- bidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular dis- orders. In fact, a clear connection is revealed by the present discovery because elovanoids also target neuronal cell senescence and epigenetic signaling. Overall, the protein discovered now to be a site of brain and retina (and likely other organs) protection by elovanoids opens avenues of targeted therapeutics for age-related diseases, stroke, ALS, and traumatic brain injury, as well as to sustain healthy, successful aging.” Tulane Seeks Young Families for Infant Development Study Tulane University psychologists are calling on young families in the New Orleans area to partic- ipate in a new study to help shed light on babies’ early cognitive development. Funded by a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, this study aims to uncover the intricate ways in which infants absorb information from their surroundings and caregiv- ers. Researchers will study how babies pay atten- tion to their mothers and how these interactions relate to how children learn in early development. “When families bring their happy, healthy infants to participate in our studies they are contributing to research that will ultimately be aimed at understanding diverse developmental pathways,” said lead investigator Julie Markant, associate professor of psychology in Tulane’s School of Science and Engineering. “Our goal is to understand how this early learning typically occurs so that we can identify factors that may lead to atypical outcomes as early as possible.” To conduct this study, Markant and her team employ innovative techniques such as tracking eye movements to observe and analyze infants' responses without relying on verbal instructions. Infants and their mothers are being asked to make three appointments — when the baby is 4 months old, 6 months old, and 8 months old. Families are encouraged to enroll as early as pos- sible, even before the baby is born.